Labouring the news: Management control strategies and work intensification in the digital newsroom

Using a labour process lens, this research focuses on the structured antagonism that characterises the employment relationship. This article seeks to further our understanding of how news organisations employ control strategies to extract the labour power of journalists and achieve organisational objectives, and we pay particular attention to the role of editors in this regard. We also explore the responses of journalists as workers to managerial control which can include accommodation, resistance, compliance, or consent. The findings are based on an empirical case study of a local newspaper incorporating interviews with editors and journalists. The case study reveals how journalists' work intensified with the turn to digital content, and because of reduced staffing since COVID-19, but editors ensured high levels of productivity through distribution of digital analytics and constant monitoring.

Coordination in a not-for-profit organisation during the COVID-19 pandemic: organisational sensemaking during planning meetings

PurposeThe authors examine how a not-for-profit organisation (NPO) coordinates NPO's actions during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic to remain focussed on strategic and operational goals.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a live case study of an NPO as the crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded. Drawing on a sensemaking perspective that incorporates sensegiving, the authors develop a framework of five types of organisational sensemaking. The authors analyse weekly planning meetings during which managers discussed past performance, forecast performance and the forecast duration of current cash reserves.FindingsThe authors show how three of the five types of organisational sensemaking helped to coordinate actions. The authors highlight how accounting information triggers organisational sensemaking processes;but depending on the type of organisational sensemaking, accounting information has little further role. The authors also show that the stability of decisions depends on the types of organisational sensemaking.Practical implicationsThe authors show how coordination as a management control practice is enabled by organisational sensemaking within an NPO during a crisis. Organisational sensemaking enabled the agreement of actions, which enabled coordination. Accounting practices provided trigger mechanisms to facilitate organisational sensemaking.Originality/valueSince this study is the first to examine sensemaking processes and accounting practices in coordination in an NPO in a pandemic, the authors contribute to the limited research on NPOs during crises and on the management control practice of coordination. The authors extend the accounting literature on sensemaking by showing that, whilst accounting triggers organisational sensemaking, accounting is only implicated in one type of organisational sensemaking and by revealing the different outcomes of the different types of organisational sensemaking.

COVID-19 uncertainty, pandemic management strategy, management control and public health performance

Purpose: Although the use of management control systems (MCS) in crisis management has received extensive attention, limited knowledge exists regarding the benefits of the broad scope, timeliness, integration and aggregation dimensions. This study aims at examining the performance implications of the context-structure combinations of pandemic management strategy (PMS), MCS use and pandemic-induced uncertainty of public health institutions (PHIs) in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected using online survey questionnaire where 246 public health managers qualified for the study. Data were analyzed using covariance-based structural equations modeling (version 23). Findings: PMS was found to have a significant and positive impact on three (broad scope, timeliness and aggregation) of the four dimensions. The integrated dimension was statistically insignificant. In addition, the three dimensions had a significant impact on top managers' satisfaction with MCS use, which in turn impact on cost containment and quality of care. Finally, COVID-19 uncertainty moderated the relationship between MCS use and operational performance. Practical implications: The three dimensions of broad scope, timeliness and aggregation are critical for PHIs when it comes to crisis management. Moreover, the presence of pandemics strengthens the relationship between top manager use of MCS and performance in health care. More sophisticated MCS information is required when managing pandemic-related crisis by PHIs. Originality/value: This study presents a theoretical framework that integrates PMS, MCS use and performance of public health care from a contingency perspective. It extends the benefits of contingency theory to include the three dimensions of MCS with respect to crisis management. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Compliance to "unpleasant" actions of crisis management: Some remarks from a management control perspective

In managing the Covid-16 pandemic, policy makers took actions which require the cooperation of individual citizens to succeed while the actions partially come at remarkable costs for individuals. The brief paper employs a thought experiment to identify factors which affect individuals' propensity to cooperate in the public goods game. These factors reasonably comprise, for example, risk perception and attitude towards risk, embeddedness in a social network or the desire for social approval and may differ remarkably among the individuals of a collective. The paper adopts a management control perspective which appears to be particularly helpful to identify how to implement policy makers' actions with respect to the diverse individuals in a collective. In order to predict the overall outcome of "unpleasant" actions, an approach is required which allows to capture the heterogeneity of individuals within a collective which makes agent-based modelling a promising candidate. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Does Entrepreneur's Self-Compassion Improve the Family-Owned Small Business's Performance?

The present study intends to investigate the influence of entrepreneurs' self-compassion (i.e., self-judgment, self-isolation, and mindfulness) on family-owned small business (F-OSB) performance during the pandemic. A conceptual model with self-judgment, self-isolation, mindfulness (formative constructs), and F-OSB performance (reflective construct) was based on three hypotheses. Primary data (n=227) was collected from entrepreneurs designated as CEO, Chairman, or managing directors in F-OSBs in Pakistan. The study used Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) through Smart-PLS software version 3.3.2. First, the reliability and validity of the constructs were tested. In the next step bootstrapping to test the hypothesis was implemented. Self-control theory is used to explain the conceptual model. Results revealed that self-judgment and self-isolation have a significant negative while mindfulness has a significant positive association with F-OSB performance. The research contributed to literature and theory and has a post-pandemic practical contribution. First, the study filled a research gap by investigating the relationship between self-compassion and F-OSB performance. Second, this study contributed to the self-control theory by explaining the aforementioned relationship in the F-OSB context. Third, the results implied that, along with vaccination and financial support by the governments, F-OSB entrepreneurs must be provided psychological training sessions to cope with the negative effects of self-judgment and self-isolation due to lockdowns. Thus, F-OSB entrepreneurs not only perform well after COVID and become psychologically strong to take vigilant and calculated initiative for their businesses' and families' betterment.

The role of management control and integrated information systems for the resilience of SMEs

This paper investigates the resilience of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly the influence exerted by certain factors related to management control, integrated information systems (enterprise resource planning [ERP]), information and communication technology (ICT) systems, and financial resources. For this purpose, leveraging from the dynamic capability theory, in late spring 2020, a questionnaire was sent to limited-liability SMEs in Verona and Vicenza provinces in Italy operating in the manufacturing, construction, and distribution sectors. Respondents were asked to answer a set of questions and to evaluate the resilience of their firms as of January 1, 2020;May 1, 2020;and one year later, as of July 2021. Using a multivariate regression model to analyze data from the 143 questionnaires received, we found a positive influence of budgeting, business continuity tools, availability of supplementary financial resources, and resilience of the entrepreneur on both COVID-19 resilience and the organizational resilience of SMEs. SMEs with a high intention to use ERP systems also had high resilience levels. ICT use for smart working was not statistically significant. Despite the limitations concerning the sample and period considered, we believe that this study contributes to both academic debate, by illustrating the influence of certain managerial and organizational factors on the resilience of SMEs, and practice, by supporting a greater empirical use of management control tools, such as budgets and contingency plans, and integrated information systems (ERP). Our study supports the creation of financial buffers and strengthening the entrepreneur's resilience for improving SME resilience. © 2023, The Author(s).

COVID-19 on the Navajo Nation: experiences of Diné families of children with asthma.

OBJECTIVE: The first case of COVID-19 on the Navajo Nation (NN) was found on March 17, 2020. Even with strong public health efforts, NN saw the highest per capita infection rate in the US during May of 2020 with 2450/100,000. To determine the impact of COVID-19 on families of children with asthma on the NN, families participating in the NHLBI funded Community Asthma Program were contacted to see if they would share their experiences. METHODS: Sixty-six of 193 families (34%) were interviewed.Results: The average age of the child with asthma was 13.5 (SD = 3.9) and 33% were female. Most Diné children with asthma in our study did not contract COVID-19. However, the pandemic had a significant impact on them and their families. Many family members contracted COVID-19, some children lost family members, and half of interviewed parents reported a decline in their child's mental health. Twenty-five percent of families sought the help of a traditional healer. Many accessed medical care through telehealth and most were able to obtain asthma medications when needed.Conclusions: Despite significant challenges, our research indicated resilience among Navajo families.

Accountability logics in disability service NPOs – Incorporating the role of service user advocacy in accountability and management control systems

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to contribute to a greater understanding of non-profit organization (NPO) management control systems (MCS) and accountability in organizations providing support service for capacity constrained service users. Specifically, the paper examines the role of MCS and accountability in supporting mission realization in NPOs providing services to people with intellectual disabilities and reflects on this in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: The research comprised a case study of four NPOs providing services to people with intellectual disabilities in Ireland conducted prior to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The study probed management's perceptions of stakeholders and examined the manner in which the design and use of MCS and accountability processes supported mission realization. Findings: Service users were regarded as the least powerful stakeholder and consequently the least attended to in terms of MCS and accountability processes. The absence of relational and dialogical accountability with service users is not only central to maintaining this power asymmetry but also poses a threat to mission realization. These deficits can be addressed through the integration and monitoring of internal advocacy activities into MCS and accountability processes, which, on reflection, may also mitigate some of the negative consequences for service users of isolation from external support networks in times of crisis. Research limitations/implications: This research has opened up an area for enquiry – internal advocacy – heretofore not addressed in the management accounting literature, opening up a novel vein for future research. Such research could further examine the role of internal advocacy, drawing from and adding to the research in other support service domains. A number of objectives and questions might be considered: (1) probing the level of management recognition of the role of direct engagement in advocacy activities in supporting service user agency;(2) identifying with service users and management the nature and attributes of effective advocacy activities and practices;(3) questioning how such advocacy activities and practices might be reflected in MCS;(4) identifying what service user stakeholders regard as effective accountability to them in relation to their needs and objectives;and (5) assessing the impact on service user experience and on NPO mission realization of internal advocacy activities and the monitoring and review thereof through MCS. These suggestions for future research draw attention to aspects of support service delivery that have the potential to be profoundly influential on service outcomes. Practical implications: A performance management model reflecting the identified need to incorporate internal advocacy mechanisms into organizational management control systems is proposed in an effort to increase accountability of NPOs to their core mission stakeholder – service users. This model may be of value to NPO management as they move from a medical-model of care to a rights-based model for service delivery in care settings. Social implications: The paper reflects the importance of listening to the voice of vulnerable service users in NPO care settings and proposes a mechanism for embedding internal advocacy in formal management control systems and accountability processes. Originality/value: In proposing an "agency” supportive relational and dialogical accountability logic for such organizations, underpinned by "internal advocacy”, this research provides theoretical and practical insights for accountability processes and the design of MCS. The findings contribute empirically, not just to the NPO management and MCS literature but also to understanding the relational interaction of service users with service organizations, and what this means in supporting service user objectives and realization of organizational mission. © 2023, Frank Conaty and Geraldine Robbins.

Supply Chain Management Control System: a literature review

The aim of this paper is to provide a literature review of the Supply Chain Management Control Systems as a discipline that converges two fields: the MCS and the SCM. This convergence has as goal the enhance of the organization's performance. Faced with the critical situation and the crisis that the world is experiencing due to the Covid-19 pandemic, companies are today, more than ever, forced to ensure the efficiency of their SCs as a pledge to improve their overall performance. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to provide a review of the role of the MCS in managing and assuring the resilience and the performance of the SC. To get a solid grasp of the structure of MCS research in SCM and study the link between, we conducted a literature review of the articles published between 2016 and 2021. The aim is to provide a view of the recent researches covering the subject of the SCMCS.

Working from home and management controls

The Covid-19 pandemic and the corresponding shift toward working from home (WFH) amplifies control problems within organizations and poses severe challenges for management control as employees' tasks are difficult to observe under WFH conditions. We examine the association between WFH and action controls. Based on a survey among employees in a large international corporation, we find that under WFH conditions the organization more intensively uses standardization and planning participation. We also examine the association between WFH and employee outcomes. The findings suggest that WFH is associated with more time employees spend in meetings and a higher job focus. Overall, the study adds to the literature by exploring the association between WFH and the use of management controls in organizations.

Determinants of Managerial Performance in The Covid-19 Era

This study examines the determinants of managerial performance which consist of management control systems, organizational culture, and organizational commitment. The analysis was carried out using multiple linear regression with the SPSS version 22 program. The object studied was a health care institution in the South Tangerang area with data collected from 52 respondents. The results of the study show that partially, the management control system, organizational culture and organizational commitment have a significant positive effect on managerial performance. Simultaneously, all independent variables have a significant effect on managerial performance. [ FROM AUTHOR]

Moderating Role of Cost Accounting Information Quality on the Relationship Between the COVID‐19 Pandemic and Budgeting in Public Hospitals

Based on new public management, information processing theory and contingency theory, this study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on budgeting in public hospitals, focusing on budget use. The research hypotheses were tested using a survey of 82 responses from hospital CFOs. The results show that the organisations that were most affected by the pandemic increased their use of budgets for planning, resource allocation and control, compared to those that were less affected. This study also highlights the moderating role of cost accounting information quality in the relationship between crises and budget use. We find that public hospitals that have been most affected by the pandemic and have simultaneously better cost accounting information have increased their use of budgets for planning, resource allocation and cost control more than those whose costing system does not provide superior cost data.

Supply Chain Management Control System: A literature review

The aim of this paper is to provide a literature review of the Supply Chain Management Control Systems as a discipline that converges two fields: The MCS and the SCM. This convergence has as goal the enhance of the organization's performance. Faced with the critical situation and the crisis that the world is experiencing due to the Covid-19 pandemic, companies are today, more than ever, forced to ensure the efficiency of their SCs as a pledge to improve their overall performance. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to provide a review of the role of the MCS in managing and assuring the resilience and the performance of the SC. To get a solid grasp of the structure of MCS research in SCM and study the link between, we conducted a literature review of the articles published between 2016 and 2021. The aim is to provide a view of the recent researches covering the subject of the SCMCS. © 2022 IEEE.

Exploring the Role of Levers of Control in a Work Environment That Supports Innovative Behavior (An Empirical Study at PT. SEMB)

This study aims to describe and analyze how controls in the form of belief systems, boundary systems, diagnostic systems, and interactive systems can build a work atmosphere that supports employee innovation. The research method used in this research is a qualitative method with a case study approach. This approach was chosen to provide best practice (best practice) for other companies/organizations. Linear and hierarchical approaches are used in this study as data analysis techniques built from the ground up. The results of interviews with 9 (nine) informants consisting of management lines and employees of PT SEMB show that belief systems, boundary systems, diagnostic systems, and an interactive system can build a work atmosphere that supports innovation involving the employees. In addition, the company also has several media/channels for employees to directly involve in the innovation initiation process, namely voice behavior. This study only uses interview method and not observation due to COVID-19. This research describes how a conducive working culture in a company can motivate the creativity and participative behavior from employee, thus allowing the quick growth of company due to the innovations created, moreover in the rapidly changing industries. This study also shows that investment on ideas and the open communication room within employees directs employees to be creative, ingenious, and driven. The company is then to behave as a united organization that works together to pursue company's objective from each role. © 2022, SRAC - Romanian Society for Quality. All rights reserved.

Control and motivation in task performance of public servants at home office in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose - The purpose of the article is to analyze the influence of output control, autonomous motivation and controlled motivation on task performance of public servants at home office owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach - A survey was conducted based on the perception of 236 public servants, and structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was used for data analysis. Findings - Both autonomous motivation and output control are positively and significantly related to task performance. Research limitations/implications - The present study expands the literature with information about individual performance and management control, which can be related to the control, motivation and task performance of public servants at home office in a pandemic context. Practical implications - The results could offer a basis for understanding how managers can deal with the challenges while at home office. They can also provide managers with information that they can use to build management strategies to foster the performance of public servants at home office. Social implications - Home office can decrease commuting to a central workplace, alleviate traffic problems and reduce car pollution. It also allows for business continuity in the face of storms and pandemics. Originality/value - Most studies about home office, COVID-19 and task performance have addressed personal, professional and organizational characteristics. However, little is known about the analysis of combinations of the following constructs: output control, autonomous and controlled motivations, and how both affect task performance of public servants.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Incidence of Asthma Exacerbations and Hospitalizations in US Subspecialist-Treated Patients with Severe Asthma: Results from the CHRONICLE Study.

Purpose: Patients with severe asthma (SA) are at an increased risk of asthma-related hospitalizations and exacerbations. Despite concerns that COVID-19 circulation would increase exacerbations of SA, anecdotal reports suggest that social distancing and exposure avoidance may have led to reduced exacerbations. Patients and methods: CHRONICLE is an ongoing noninterventional observational study of 3100 subspecialist-treated patients with SA. Eligible adults (≥ 18 years of age) have (1) current use of monoclonal antibody (ie, biologic) therapy for SA, (2) use of maintenance systemic corticosteroids (mSCS) or other systemic immunosuppressants for ≥ 50% of the prior 12 months for SA, or (3) persistently uncontrolled asthma while treated with high-dosage inhaled corticosteroids with additional controllers. For enrolled patients, electronic medical records were reviewed to record all exacerbations and asthma-related hospitalizations. Descriptive analyses were conducted of the monthly incidence of exacerbations, exacerbation-related visits to the emergency department (ED), and asthma hospitalizations from July 2018 through July 2021. Results: Exacerbations, exacerbation-related ED visits, and hospitalizations decreased since April 2020. Exacerbations in 2020 were 20% to 52% lower in April through August relative to the same months in 2019. Exacerbations remained lower than the prior year through May 2021. Similar results were observed by United States (US) census region, with an earlier decrease in exacerbation rates in the western US versus other regions. Across all months, exacerbation rates were lower among biologic recipients. Conclusion: In a clinical cohort of subspecialist-treated patients with SA, there was a meaningful reduction in exacerbations, exacerbation-related ED visits, and asthma hospitalizations following COVID-19-related stay-at-home orders and social distancing recommendations. Reasons for these reductions are likely multifactorial, including reduced viral infections due to less social contact and altered patient behavior.

Roles of Mobilized Controls and Environmental Uncertainty on Supply Chain Resilience: An Empirical Study From Dynamic-Capabilities-View and Levers-of-Control Perspectives

COVID-19 creates big challanges to supply chain management. This article empirically examines the impact of management control systems (MCS) on managing supply chain resilience (SCR) to enhance organizational competitiveness under environmental uncertainty. Drawing on the dynamic capabilities view (DCV) theory and levers of control (LoC) framework, an industrial survey was conducted. Analyses performed on the collected data from 405 manufacturing firms reveal that the effects of MCS on SCR and organizational competitiveness depend on the nature and use of mobilized controls. Different from conventional wisdom, the study suggests that belief, boundary, and interactive systems enable firms to achieve SCR and these systems have positive effects on organizational competitiveness through SCR. Moreover, interestingly, diagnostic systems seem to play no role in strengthening SCR and organizational competitiveness. The study thus argues that firms should employ the enabling characteristics of belief and interactive systems, along with the controlling features of boundary systems to manage SCR and ultimately be more organizational-competitive. The research also uncovers that environmental uncertainty positively moderates the indirect effects of MCS on organizational competitiveness through SCR. Indeed, the study indicates that firms evolving in highly uncertain and dynamic environments tend to increase the use of different MCS to generate detailed information that is essential to strengthen SCR. Overall, this theory-based empirical research provides novel insights regarding how MCS would contribute to improving SCR and organizational competitiveness, especially under disruptions such as COVID-19.

Coordination in a not-for-profit organisation during the COVID-19 pandemic: organisational sensemaking during planning meetings

Purpose: The authors examine how a not-for-profit organisation (NPO) coordinates NPO's actions during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic to remain focussed on strategic and operational goals. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted a live case study of an NPO as the crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded. Drawing on a sensemaking perspective that incorporates sensegiving, the authors develop a framework of five types of organisational sensemaking. The authors analyse weekly planning meetings during which managers discussed past performance, forecast performance and the forecast duration of current cash reserves. Findings: The authors show how three of the five types of organisational sensemaking helped to coordinate actions. The authors highlight how accounting information triggers organisational sensemaking processes;but depending on the type of organisational sensemaking, accounting information has little further role. The authors also show that the stability of decisions depends on the types of organisational sensemaking. Practical implications: The authors show how coordination as a management control practice is enabled by organisational sensemaking within an NPO during a crisis. Organisational sensemaking enabled the agreement of actions, which enabled coordination. Accounting practices provided trigger mechanisms to facilitate organisational sensemaking. Originality/value: Since this study is the first to examine sensemaking processes and accounting practices in coordination in an NPO in a pandemic, the authors contribute to the limited research on NPOs during crises and on the management control practice of coordination. The authors extend the accounting literature on sensemaking by showing that, whilst accounting triggers organisational sensemaking, accounting is only implicated in one type of organisational sensemaking and by revealing the different outcomes of the different types of organisational sensemaking. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

The influence of telework and management controls on the congruence of civil servant objectives

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the influence of telework and management control systems (MCSs) on the congruence of civil servant objectives in the Brazilian justice system. Design/methodology/approach: To this end, the authors have carried out a survey with 468 employees of the Ministério Público Federal (Federal Public Ministry), whose data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings: Among the main results are the perceived efficiency of telework, and the finding that action and personnel controls are positively related to the congruence of objectives. However, the moderating relationship of the MCSs presented individual characteristics. Action controls showed no evidence of moderating the relationship between the perceived efficiency of telework and congruence of objectives. However, personnel controls showed a significant and negative relationship, that is, more intense personnel controls in telework weakened the congruence of individual objectives with those of the organization. Practical implications: This study contributes to practice by identifying barriers and facilitators in organizational telework programs and also spotting how controls can be planned for their activities. Originality/value: The authors’ research evaluates the effect of MCSs on the relationship between the perceived efficiency of telework and the congruence of employee objectives, considering that the telework regime is in its initial phase of implementation in public entities, but this has been intensified by the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. © 2022, Edicreia Andrade Dos Santos, Jonatas Dutra Sallaberry and Alcindo Cipriano Argolo Mendes.

Challenges for the control of university management: Transformation of processes in times of pandemic

The control of the management of university processes during the emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic must be seen from the conjunction of all its phases in order to have a holistic perspective, for this reason this research seeks to establish mechanisms of execution and control of the remote university management, which include academic core processes and support to the institutional mission. The study is carried out within the framework of qualitative research, from a hermeneutical perspective that seeks to interpret through a descriptive design the phenomenology of the global latent reality of quarantine. Finally, it is proposed that the core training and research processes be developed under the b-Learning modality, while the support processes that attempt against biosafety are carried out through teleworking. In addition, the use of digital technology platforms in the execution and control of virtual management by results with the application of compliance indicators. © 2022 Encuentros (Maracaibo). All rights reserved.